Helen Priscilla Rabagliati,

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(; 1851–1934) was a local philanthropist and campaigner for improvements in health, women's condition and political change. She was the daughter of

Duncan McLaren Duncan McLaren (12 January 1800 – 26 April 1886) was a Scottish Scottish Liberal Party, Liberal Party politician and political writer. He served as a member of the burgh council of Edinburgh, then as Lord Provost of Edinburgh, Lord Provost, t ...

and Priscilla Bright (sister of John Bright. She is a sister of

Charles McLaren, 1st Baron Aberconway Charles Benjamin Bright McLaren, 1st Baron Aberconway, (12 May 1850 – 23 January 1934), known as Sir Charles McLaren, 1st Baronet, between 1902 and 1911, was a Scottish jurist and Liberal Party politician. He was a landowner and industriali ...

and

Walter McLaren Walter Stowe Bright McLaren (17 April 1853 – 29 June 1912) was a British Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party politician who was Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for the Crewe (UK Parliament constituency), Crewe ...

. Her most significant and enduring contributions to

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

were education and public health. She founded an early hospice, St Catherine's and supported a maternity home for young unsupported women, St. Monica's. After 1900 she was very prominent in West Riding Conservative women's politics. During World War 1, she was president of the Ilkley Ladies' Belgian Hospitality Committee. In recognition of the "kind help and valuable assistance personally given to the Belgian refugees and Belgian soldiers during the war" she was awarded the Medaille de la Reine Elisabeth by the King of the Belgians.Leeds Mercury, 4 July 1918 Helen Priscilla McLaren was born on 28 October 1851. She was the daughter of Duncan McLaren and Priscilla Bright. She married

Andrea Rabagliati Andrea Carlo Francisco Rabagliati (1843 in Scotland – 7 December 1930 in Bradford, England) was a physician and author of books on dietary practice. Career Andrea Rabagliati was the son of Giacomo Rabagliati, a political refugee from Italy, an ...

on 25 May 1877. They had five children including Euan Rabagliati, Duncan Silvestro Rabagliati OBE, Catherine Rabagliati MBE (Mayor of Paddington) and Herman Victor Rabagliati. She died on 3 January 1934 at age 82. Helen Rabagliati was invested as a Member, Order of the British Empire (

). Curiously, Helen increasingly took the opposite political viewpoint of that of her family.

References

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Lecture recalls politician Helen.

Enigmatic Ilkley politician remembered in special lecture
*Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 106th edition, 2 volumes (Crans, Switzerland: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 1999), volume 1, page 3. *Caroline Brown & Mark Hunnebell, Ilkley and the Great War, Amberley Publishing, 2014 {{DEFAULTSORT:Rabagliati, Helen British philanthropists People from Bradford 1851 births 1934 deaths Members of the Order of the British Empire

See also

References